Meanwhile, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is also dealing with a staffing shortage. But, unlike San Jose police, the sheriff's office is not hurting in the number of street patrol officers it can deploy.

"It's not a burden at all. We keep the same staffing," said Sgt. James Jensen, sheriff's office spokesman. "Normally two deputies respond to the same call anyway. So now they're in the same vehicle right away."

The top brass at both agencies are still conducting ongoing meetings to assess any other changes. As one officer put it, heightened awareness is now standard operating procedure.